 |
 |
music |
|
|
album reviews |
| articles | |
| concert reviews | |
| consultant page | |
| daily flow | |
| stealth artists | |
| oidar-(WHGO) |
|
politics |
|
lifestyle |
|
sports |
|
articles/opinion ed |
|
the arena |
|
about us |
|
links |
Julie
Dexter/Donnie Concert at the Village Underground NYC February 27,
2003 |
I found out a 2 days before the Donnie/Julie Dexter show on February 27, 2003 at the Village Underground in NYC that it was sold out. It was a performance that I had been looking forward to for quite some time, but the date sort of snuck up on me. I frantically put the word out to friends who may have had an extra ticket but came up with nothing. I even called the box office a few times but was only told that there was minute chance that there would be a couple of tickets at the door. After talking to a couple of friends, I decided to take the trip across the Hudson from New Jersey and try my luck. I got to the door a little later than expected and found about 10 people ahead of me all trying to do the same thing I was – get into a COMPLETELY sold out show with no tickets. It was not looking good to say the least.
As the 20-something degree weather began to make its presence felt in my extremities, the bouncer came out and informed us that the first 3 people in line had a slight chance of gaining entrance; the rest of us had “zero chance.” At that point, many of the people left, including the 10 or so that had formed a line behind me, but I decided to wait. And wait I did. After speaking to the bouncer a couple of times to alert him to my plight and having him appear quite indifferent, I still maintained a glimmer of hope. Just as my fingers and toes were almost completely devoid of feeling, I was granted entrance. Patience is certainly a virtue.
I entered the main room to the sounds of DJ Cucumber Slice AKA Bobbito Garcia spinning funky set of 45’s and rare grooves. The great music he provided made the anticipation even greater for the upcoming performances. After about a 30 minute set (which allowed me to unthaw completely), Bobbito was given the honors of introducing the performers. First up was Birmingham, England native Julie Dexter.
After a dramatic introduction with a saxophone player walking through the crowd playing a solo, Julie took the stage and began with a funked-out version vocal of John Coltrane’s standard, “A Love Supreme.” She then went into two of her original compositions from her LP “Dexterity;” the reggae-inspired “Walk With Me” and the drum-and-bass-flavored “Ketch A Vibe” (the latter also appears on her EP “Piece of Mind”). She informed the onlookers that the backup band was actually Donnie’s band, but one would never be able to tell from the synergy between her and the musicians, as well as her commanding of the arrangements as they played along with her. As much as we were mesmerized by her voice, the band really stepped up to match her on the next song; a dub version of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler).” The arrangement and instrumentation during this song was absolutely incredible. The drums and baseline were so crisp coming out of the sound system, and the dub plate combined with her silky voice truly tapped into my soul. She then went into a song that I was unfamiliar with which I believed was titled “Why?” The band alternated between playing the track used for Goodie Mob’s “Cell Therapy” and a traditional jazz arrangement as Ms. Dexter sang a beautifully written commentary on today’s problems throughout the world. She finished up her set with the album tracks “What Do I Do”, which allowed her background vocalist to show her talent, my personal favorite track from her album, the autobiographical “Faith” with it’s laid back keyboards powerful horns, and finally the reggae inspired “Love” in which she creatively incorporating the singing of her website address near the end. Overall, Julie’s performance was truly memorable, and has since cause me to rediscover the wonderful music she has created as displayed on her two releases.
After a brief disco/house set by Cucumber Slice that had the majority of the venue up “shaking their groove things,” he then introduced the man of the hour, Donnie. Ever since the first performance I witnessed a few months ago (see here) I vowed that I would go to see Donnie perform whenever he was in my area. Well, that vow proved to be a wise one because certainly did not disappoint. He began with the ultra-funky “Our New National Anthem” and took command of the crowd immediately just as he had done four months ago. He flawlessly transitioned into his incredible compositions “Heaven Sent” and “You Got A Friend.” There is something very special about this man’s music, and mostly everyone who has given “The Colored Section” a good listen is aware of it. That feeling in intensified 100 times over when he performs live, and it is almost a surreal experience. The self-pride anthem “Beautiful Me” was up next which had the crowd (including myself) in a complete and utter frenzy! We all sang along with and without him as we all proclaimed “I’m not a nigger/ I’m ne-g-ro/ When I become a nigger I’ll let you know!” The atmosphere felt as though we were at a rally in the 60’s proclaiming “Black Is Beautiful” and the scene itself was beautiful to see and be a part of. “People Person” followed next, which brought Donnie’s church roots to the forefront as the band transitioned between the original arrangement and a ‘Sunday-Morning-church-folk-catching-the-Holy-Ghost’ version. He then followed up with my favorite track from the album (if there is such a thing), “Cloud 9.” Needless to say, I had to take my hat off and let my dreads swing free during that performance. And after all of that, the most memorable part of the show was the end because of the fact that he performed 2 songs that I have not played as much as the others in the past, but have now become some of my favorites on the entire piece. The songs “Do You Know” and “Turn Around”(the latter being an encore) rounded out another live incredible live show from the Atlanta native.
In summary, I hate Ashanti and Musiq even more.
Peace.
Knowfrillz.
